ABOUT THE LIONS: Kerry Collins, Richie Anderson and O.J. McDuffie are the bulk of an offense that has been averaging 35.3 points a game. The Lions are almost a perfect balance offensively, gaining a total of 2,360 yards on the ground and 2,391 in the air. Anderson has been the TD maker, scoring 18 of them, with a 64-yarder being his longest. There might be some holes on the defensive side since Rich McKenzie has been sidelined because of academic and disciplinary problems. The pass rush is solely in the hands of Tyoka Jackson. DB Mark Graham is out with an injury, thus walk-on Mahlon Forbes will be cast into the position, an important one since Stanford plays a wide-open offense. The Lions have been shaky in the secondary.

ABOUT THE CARDINAL: You'd expect Bill Walsh to have a varied pro-type offense and with QB Steve Stenstrom and runners Glyn Milburn and Ellery Roberts, he does. Stenstrom is a near-60 percent passer, but he has thrown nine interceptions. Milburn is Stanford's answer to O.J. McDuffie. Both are among the best in the nation in all-purpose yardage. Defensively, the Cardinal looks to John Lynch, who might be hurting with a shoulder injury; Dave Garnett and Ron George. This trio has been Stanford's ministers of defense. One other strong offensive weapon is field goal kicker Eric Abrams. He can kick them short or long.

EVALUATION: The game has all the earmarks of coming down to one or two big plays. Each team has a big-play man, Stanford's Milburn and Penn State's McDuffie. Both teams have the ability to move the ball, on the ground as well as in the air. Stanford may be the team that is coming into the game on a high note. The Cardinal won its last three games and are shooting for a rare 10-win season. The Lions are coming off a rout of inept Pitt, but the shock waves of Miami and Boston College still linger. If this game comes down to a kicking game, Stanford has a wide edge. Penn State's kicking game has fallen apart since the season-ending injury to Craig Fayak just before the Miami game.